risk

Business families of significant wealth are reviewing the implications of Brexit as the scheduled date for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union looms.

Business families of significant wealth are reviewing the implications of Brexit as the scheduled date for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union looms.

PwC has been urging clients to start activating contingency plans in areas where Brexit may affect supply chains and cross-border change. For the sector as whole, many organisations were still waiting to see what the final outcome of negotiations will be before taking significant investment decisions, Peter Englisch (pictured above), global and EMEA family business leader at PwC Germany, said.

Slowing growth with Brexit as the obstacle, loose succession planning and the rise of cybercrime are the challenges keeping Irish family business leaders awake at night, according to research.

Slowing growth with Brexit as the obstacle, loose succession planning and the rise of cybercrime are the challenges keeping Irish family business leaders awake at night, according to research.

However, Ireland performed slightly better than global counterparts on particular areas of diversity. A quarter (25%) of Irish family business board members were female compared to 21% global and 28% of Irish family management teams were women, PwC’s 2019 Irish Family Business Survey discovered.

The family of Africa’s youngest billionaire, Mohammed Dewji, who was kidnapped last week outside a luxury hotel in Tanzania’s capital city, have offered a reward for any information on his whereabouts.

The family of Africa’s youngest billionaire, Mohammed Dewji, who was kidnapped last week outside a luxury hotel in Tanzania’s capital city, have offered a reward for any information on his whereabouts.

On Thursday, Mohammed “Mo” Dewji, the 43-year-old owner and president of multi-billion dollar family business MeTL Group, was bundled into a car by armed men waiting outside the Colosseum Hotel Oyster Bay as he arrived for a routine morning workout.

With cybersecurity breaches at well-known companies hitting the headlines, it is easy to believe that family offices which maintain a low profile would not be a prime target for digital fraud.

With cybersecurity breaches at well-known companies hitting the headlines, it is easy to believe that family offices which maintain a low profile would not be a prime target for digital fraud.

However, this ignores the attractiveness of the information that is stored by a family office, their advisers and their financial institutions—information and data which is potentially useful to criminals who wish to steal from, harm or damage the reputation of a wealthy family.

Family businesses account for more than two-thirds of UK businesses and many of these families have strong links with the European Union. The UK's exit from the EU could present them with significant risks, especially given that the regulatory framework that will govern the UK's future relationship with the EU is still unknown.

Family businesses account for more than two-thirds of UK businesses and many of these families have strong links with the European Union. The UK's exit from the EU could present them with significant risks, especially given that the regulatory framework that will govern the UK's future relationship with the EU is still unknown.

While nobody can foresee the economic outcome of Brexit, there are practical steps that family businesses can take to prepare for a future outside the EU.

Europe has been unloved by investors for a long time. The debt crisis and consequent political uncertainty about the future of the euro has understandably had investors running for safer places to put their money.

Europe has been unloved by investors for a long time. The debt crisis and consequent political uncertainty about the future of the euro has understandably had investors running for safer places to put their money.

However, with the US going through a debt crisis of its own – with unforeseeable consequences on emerging markets – it may be time to rethink investment in Europe.

Most global equity markets have recovered sharply in the last year, but that doesn’t mean family offices are piling in, as many of them still remain wary of risk. Campden reports.

Don't mention the B-word – Bernanke. When the chairman of the Federal Reserve suggested the Fed was starting to think about winding down its asset-purchasing programme investors started heading for the exits, and US equities – not to mention assets in emerging markets, which had benefitted from the global search for yield – nose-dived.

Despite a reluctance to take up riskier assets and a lack of confidence in the equity markets, the world’s richest individuals saw their wealth grow 10% in 2012.

Despite a reluctance to take up riskier assets and a lack of confidence in the equity markets, the world’s richest individuals saw their wealth grow 10% in 2012, according to research released today by Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management.

This is in contrast to 2011 when the average investible wealth of high net worth individuals dropped 1.7%, and the sluggish 2.6% average growth seen since 2008.